French Equatorial Africa

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French Equatorial Africa Afrique équatoriale française
Federation of French colonies
↓ 1910–1958 ↓
Flag
Green: French Equatorial Africa Dark gray: Other French possessions Darkest gray: French Republic
Capital	Brazzaville
Political structure	Federation
Governor-General
- 1908–17	Martial Henri Merlin
- 1951–57	Paul Louis Gabriel Chauvet
High-Commissioner
- 1957–58	Paul Louis Gabriel Chauvet
- 1958	Pierre Messmer
History
- Established	January 15, 1910
- Disestablished	September 1958
Currency	French Equatorial African franc CFA franc
Preceded by Succeeded by Oubangui-Chari French Chad French Gabon French Congo French Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Gabon Republic of the Congo Cameroon

French Equatorial Africa (French: Afrique équatoriale française) or the AEF was the federation of French colonial possessions in Middle Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River to the Sahara Desert.

History

Established in 1910, the federation contained five territories : French Congo and Gabon, Oubangui-Chari, Chad and French Cameroon (after World War I), although the last was not organized as a separate entity until 1920. The Governor-General was based in Brazzaville with deputies in each territory.

In 1911, France ceded parts of the territory to German Kamerun as a result of the Agadir Crisis. The territory was returned after Germany's defeat in World War I, while Cameroon proper became a French League of Nations mandate not integrated into the AEF.

During the late 1920s and early 1930s an anti-colonial movement Société Amicale des Originaires de l'A.E.F. was established by André Matsoua,^[1] seeking French citizenship for the territory's inhabitants.^[2]

During World War II, the federation rallied to the Free French Forces under Félix Éboué in August 1940, except for Gabon which was Vichy French between 16 June 1940 and 12 November 1940, and became the centre for their activities in Africa.

Under the Fourth Republic (1946–58), the federation was represented in the French parliament. When the territories voted in the September 1958 referendum to become autonomous within the French Community, the federation was dissolved. In 1959 the new republics formed an interim association called the Union of Central African Republics, before becoming fully independent in August 1960.

Geography

Territories :

• Chad
• Oubangui-Chari (currently Central African Republic)
• French Congo (currently The Republic of Congo)
• Gabon
• French Cameroon (currently Cameroon)

Postage stamps

The postal administrations of the four territories were separate until 1936, each issuing its own stamps. In that year, stamps of Gabon and Middle Congo were overprinted AFRIQUE / ÉQUATORIALE / FRANÇAISE. A definitive series for the colony followed in 1937, featuring local scenes and key (French) figures in the formation of the colony, with various color and value changes each year through 1940.

The 1937 series was overprinted AFRIQUE FRANÇAISE / LIBRE or just LIBRE in 1940 by the Free French, and in 1941 they issued a series depicting a phoenix rising from the flames.

A new definitive series, featuring local scenery and people, was issued in 1946, and another twenty-odd stamps came out during the 1950s, with the last being the omnibus Human Rights issue on 10 December 1958.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: French Equatorial Africa

• List of colonial heads of French Equatorial Africa
• French colonial empires
• French West Africa
• List of French possessions and colonies
• French colonial flags
• French North Africa

References

Bibliography

• Pakenham, Thomas (1991) The Scramble for Africa, 1876–1912. 738 p. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson ISBN 0-29-781130-4
• Petringa, Maria (2006) Brazza, a Life for Africa. 276 p. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse ISBN 978-1-4259-1198-0

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